I have been having a home day today. There was a very heavy frost last night - in the cleft between Aberedw and Carneddau, the humped hills of Gwaunceste Hill were as white as snow at first light - and first thing I was sat at the computer with a warm wide woolly scarf round me that a friend gave me for Christmas. When it cools in the evening, I put it across my knees as I sew. It was minus 2 at 8.30 a.m. - I know, positively balmy for you folk in Canada and Northern America!) but felt colder.
I did get a walk in, but not very far as parts of the hill still icy, though the Council had been out and gritted it using a small open-back lorry.
Not this bit though! This was my sticking point (or falling over point) yesterday. Like the Cresta Run.
Yet - Periwinkles blooming on a sheltered bank.
The chicken curry (with a tin of tomatoes and veg added to the chicken) hit the spot today. I have some for tomorrow and some to freeze as well. I also cooked up the last of the leftover Christmas veg for the freezer (Carrots and Sprouts).
Then I began the 2nd block and that was much easier to assemble an less challenging to match up. I just randomly chose colours - the quilt will have more paler fabrics in it.
It is definitely spot the mistakes at the moment, but I now know what to be very accurate with next time, and try not to cut the corners off the square blocks where they meet the half square section on Block 2 (in first photo). With Block 1 (on the bottom), it was much easier to cut and piece but I need to make sure I have any pattern direction in the right place before cutting. At least the little squares on it were accurately pieced. I shan't do any more now until I have got the cream fabric. I used a piece of rather flimsy white to do these, which stretched when cutting and I had to be careful not to pucker when ironing with a hot iron. Anyway, those are the two tester pieces. I should be alright with the Pinwheel border, as I've done those before.
This, by the way, is the tray I fell in love with and asked Gabby to get me for Christmas. I have it on display on the end counter of the kitchen.
Lots of lovely post today, a letter from Danette arrived, plus her subscription present of Country Living magazine (February), and a letter and a book from my friend Gay in Dorset. Now I can sit down and look at the book and magazine.
Incidentally, I have just started on a new historical novel for bedtime reading, Anne O'Brien's The Virgin Widow, which is set at the time of the Wars of the Roses and features the future wife of Richard III - Anne Neville. Coincidence. Off to look at those, then embroider.
Tomorrow, another longer walk is planned. I may go up through the woods if it's slippy out.
Gosh that’s an icy bit of road! Glad the letter arrived so swiftly! The book will be brilliant - I saw her talk in Bridport last year. She’s a compelling speaker and has found out so much information - she’s waiting for our King to ok then DNA testing some bones in a tomb in Westminster Abbey and she was hopeful that unlike his mother who refused lol he will agree as he has interest in archaeology ! Fingers crossed! That tray is heaven - Jackie oh gosh her surname has slipped mind…
ReplyDeleteKeep cosy Danette xx
It's from where we had heavy rain, and then there is run-off from a steep driveway into a neighbour's property. I think she has done really intensive research but of course the academics would have it against her as she isn't one of them! It wasn't until his DNA came back 99.999% positive MINIMUM that one of her protagonists dropped his "it could be any battlefield body" criticism! I would have loved to have heard her talk. Not Sure if the King will allow DNA testing of the bodies as it could come up with a very awkward sort of truth!
DeleteCosily wrapped in a heated blanket throw and with the heating on 17. Keith had to have it on 19 all day long and sometimes I'd be in a t-shirt. He couldn't regulate his body temperature, bless him.
If you're cold, you're cold! 29F is not balmy, tho not so bad unless it's windy. I commend your dsire to daily walk, but pls be careful! A fall esp when you are alone could be so bad. My mom broke her hip/pelvis? falling on a slippery backroad, dragged herself home . Went out w/out her cell phone etc.
ReplyDeleteYour quilt blocks look great! Just watch light/ dark placement as you have a possibly odd strong vertical section on the right hand block.
Were you given snow warnings too? Or ...?
love
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Lizzy
I always take my mobile with me (I listen to a book on Audible as I walk). These lanes I walk on are well used by local farmers etc and so if I fell, someone would soon be along. If there's a slippy bit in the road, I would take to the verge, but the road was wet from a recent gritting which melts the frost/ice because of the salt in the mix.
DeleteI shan't do any more cutting out until I have the cream fabric, and am under the guidance of my quilting group teacher!
Yes, snow warnings from teatime tonight. Tam, being 9 miles from the coast, should be ok as it shows green for her. I, however, will have some white stuff. Which is bad timing as I need to get across to Tam with an oil radiator for the nursery.
When it gets icy, I stay home. I have fallen and broke the same wrist twice now. Doctors say that if it happens again they might not get it back together.
ReplyDeleteThe quilt blocks are lovely.
God bless.
That was the only icy bit - annoying as it blocked the downhill route and I had to go on the verge to go uphill. Oh dear, breaking the same wrist twice is not good.
DeleteBlock one is easy to sew. Block 2 needs more concentration!
You know, I hope that you will come back and give us a review of the book. Once again, I wandered off into a google rabbit hole. I guess that I thought that the discovery of the bones of two young men (approximately the correct age) were thought to be the remains of the princes.
ReplyDeleteI cannot claim to be knowledgeable about your history, but you seem to be. I think that it will be a book that I would like to get my hands on at some point. The reviews that I read, while they found the methodology of her investigation to be flawed, were quick to say that her book was a very thorough study of the period.
Well, I know it will be a good read, but I shall have to set aside half an hour a day or it will be put aside because I am too busy. The critiques may well come from the academics who were against her from the start, especially her gut feeling about where the body was! Historians and archaeologists don't do gut feelings, only science or hard written evidence will do!
DeleteRichard III got a bad press from Sir Thomas More, a century later as let's face it, he was supporting the Tudor dynasty - much good did it do him when Henry VIII had him beheaded. They do say that the winning side rewrites history . . . Shakespeare didn't help Richard's cause either (he even called him a hunchback, which he wasn't - he had scoliosis, which is a sideways misplacement of the spine.)
My husband has scoliosis. But you are right. History is written by the victorious. One of the critiques was done by an academic, and surprisingly, he said the book was a good read, that he found it hard to put aside. He liked the historical details, and said that her research was thorough.
DeleteI have a lot of respect for her - from a research point of view, she has dug deeper than a lot of the academics. It is difficult to be totally objective though, when you already have a firm mindset about the death of the Princes in the Tower. The same has been done with research on Jack the Ripper over the last few decades.
Deleteand in the kitchen that beautiful tray must stay! No sneaking out to slide down the hill on it as we might have done some decades past! I know we complain about the cold and as you say it's a balmy day for Canada but we are simply not used to it. It's why we melt at 80F! We are creatures of moderate and temperate climes! I am under a quilt every time I sit down now, wearing fingerless gloves indoors, and ever so thankful for my little oil filled radiator which I've found invaluable as it heats the air right next to me!
ReplyDeleteStay safe if you do venture out.
Pretty this weather may be, but it's dangerous and makes things tricksy, so bring on Spring! ASAP!
Haha - wouldn't fit my backside in that!! My kids each used to get inside of a big black binbag, and slide down the steep hill in our to field at Ynyswen (kept them dry too). I can remember being out until after dark when we had (rare) snow in So'ton.
DeleteGlad you have a quilt over you and fingerless gloves. Did you go for Netflix in the end? There's quite a bit on it. Tam has asked for my small oil filled radiator for the nursery (they do work well to heat you) but I can't get across until next week.
I enjoy looking out at snow now, and used to have long walks with Tam when she was here, but will be sensible now and not go far or if it's very bad, just look at it from inside.
That tray is so pretty. Enjoy your reading and quilting and stay warm and upright!
ReplyDeleteBrrrr here too! That path looks lethal, you really do not want to fall and break a bone - imagine no driving or sewing. Stay home and hoover and do the ironing to keep warm is my advice. Well done on the tester blocks, you certainly do not choose the easy option BB, although I would be so tempted to cut corners and leave out that small square piece on the friendship star block. I looked up the blocks in my library quilt book and see that they are based on the Ohio Star and Friendship Star blocks but both have added extras like those small squares on Friendship and the four square patches on Ohio. Also I can see you are going to have be really mindful throughout the making to ensure that you never have the same fabric side by side when you finally set the quilt out. The directional fabric makes this extra challenging as the finished blocks can only be sewn together one way. Hopefully your instructions will help with this. Meanwhile what a gorgeous day we had yesterday. I cooked most of the morning (12 portions/six dinners for two of venison casserole and a big pan of spiced butternut and carrot soup) and I danced around dusting and hoovering the sitting room and in the afternoon we wrapped up warm and stocked up at the other farm shop (cauliflower for cauliflower cheese, mushrooms for risotto, bag of potatoes, onions, carrots and celeriac, local cox’s apples, tangerines, squishy dates and walnuts). We stopped at the warm bright library on the way home and I borrowed Sally Rooney’s latest novel and we had a short walk down the footpath and past the old customs house (the lights were on and we could peep inside to see the ancient and cosy interior - the front door is painted primrose yellow) that leads to the causeway over the wetlands and eventually to the birdy place. We looked up at the molten gold sky hoping to see the white tailed eagles but no luck today, just after sunrise is the best time. Home for a pot of tea and slice of Dundee cake in front of the fire and a gorgeous sunset and I did a yoga with Adrienne practice sitting on the rug much to S’s amusement as we were doing a very explosive breath and then I was back in the kitchen preparing our supper. Two episodes of Bleak House on iplayer and I was more than ready for bath (frankincense oil and Epsom salts in my bath) and a long read in bed. I’m under a 13.5 tog duvet, a patchwork quilt, two wool blankets - one Welsh the other Finnish - and I slept soundly from 11 until 6.30. Hope you have a good day today. They seem pretty certain about the snow tonight and I expect we’ll see it on the hills. The gritting lorries have been out on the B road that we join from our house via a flattish straightforward bit of lane so as long as I’m careful I can always get out in the car. S doesn’t cope well with freezing temperatures and the sun today is hiding behind low cloud so I think we’re both happy to stay home today. Thank goodness for a warm bright spacious house and plenty of distractions to keep me occupied. Keep warm and safe BB. Sarah x
ReplyDeleteI may well leave that square out as it is difficult to piece without it just being three-cornered!! I have a really good selection of the darker and middling fabrics, but need more paler ones. I will make sure I make this under Alex's watchful eye. Those blocks would not have been placed together - or even pieced in those colours - in the quilt when I make it, they were purely done as tester pieces.
DeleteYou have some lovely meals cooked up. I just got peppers and courgettes from the freezer to make a pizza topping for tonight, and enough for a sauce for some Tortellini tomorrow. Your farm shop haul sounds like it will keep you going a bit. I would have to go to Hay Market for similar locally grown goods (well, no-one growing dates locally!!)
I am a bit ambivalent about yellow front doors for some reason. I love yellow in a house (heavens, Ynyswen was pretty well all yellow inside and out) but front doors just don't look right in my eyes, if painted yellow!
"I slept soundly" - gosh, I cannot remember the last time I did that. I think it was the Saturday night of the big Antiques Fair last September and then it was sheer exhaustion! I shut the cats downstairs last night so I could get a restful night, went up at 10, and was still wide awake at 1.30 . . . by which time I came downstairs to for some water and they all came up to join me.
That is a lovely tray, I can see why you asked for it for Christmas. I almost got up in the middle of the night yesterday to get my bobble hat. I was cosy in bed but woke up with the top of my head absolutely freezing ... I must have fallen back to sleep though because I was hatless when I woke up.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't realized that the tray was an Emma Bridgwater one - I don't buy for names, but designs. This house stays quite warm and I have the heating on just ticking over at around 16, and turned off mid-evening.
DeleteBeautiful tray, is it Emma Bridgewater. Its eye watering cold here in Derbyshire. Standing outside at 10am with a gardener for quotes for raised beds. OH is willing but hasn't got the stamina, so someone to do it for us is a must and I have the funds. I do want the garden to be right as I spend a lot of time in it. Our snow is forecast for about 8/9 pm tonight, so we could be waking up to a white world. Take care. Hugs Xx
ReplyDeleteYes it is, but I didn't realize! Did you get much snow? We had about 3 - 4" but it began raining between midnight and 1 a.m. and is raining now and it's sloshy beneath the snow so I shan't go far today. A good idea to get your garden "right" for you to enjoy.
DeleteCareful on that ice, some nearly sneaked up on me on the front walkway. Beautiful quilt blocks.
ReplyDeleteI didn't tread near it - stuck to the verge which was merely frosty.
DeleteDo be careful on the ice, as others have said even a slip can result in serious damage. That said there is nothing so invigorating as being out in the fresh air. I'm in awe of your crafting skills especially the patchwork. The latest patchwork looks very complicated. I've been scrolling between today's and yesterday's photos and wondered have you decided to change the colour placement for block 1? The plan has colour B touching all four sides of the central block while yours is a little different. Or does it work out once you put all the blocks together? As you can tell I've had very little experience of doing patchwork myself. Many years ago I made a cushion cover hand sewing tumbling blocks while travelling home on the bus.
ReplyDeleteI don't take any chances. I only walked up the steep hill because it had been well gritted and was wet underfoot.
DeleteThe colour placements for the blocks was purely happen chance. I will choose very carefully when piecing it for the actual quilt, rather than just doing a practice block.
I have that tray too! I also have another similar Bridgewater tray with 'My True Love Sent to Me' words which I bought from a charity shop in Bridport. It had been used for the morning cuppas and the staff were horrified when they found out it was more upmarket than previously thought!
ReplyDeleteSnow just beginning to fall here in Wiltshire. If it's icy I make sure I walk near a grass verge wherever possible. Or stay at home until it clears.
I have opted for the staying in option, but it drives me mad to be inside on my own all the time. I bet the A44 through the mountains is blocked this morning!
DeleteSnap to tray ownership! Did you get much snow?